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Forum:Diaspora politics
Diaspora politics, according to academic Yossi ShainShain, Yossi & Tamara Cofman Wittes. Peace as a Three-Level Game: The Role of Diasporas in Conflict Resolution in Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN 027597532, is the study of the political behavior of ethnic diasporas in their host nations as well as the involvement of diasporas with the domestic politics and international relations of their homelands. Transnational ethnic communities Diasporas are "endemic feature of the international system." Diaspora are transnational "kin communities." Politically, diasporas tend to "act independently" from any particular state on the "behalf of their entire people." Diasporas are simultaneously political active in three distinct realms: "within their states of domicile, within their ethnic homeland, and internationally in relations with third-party states, and international organizations." The result is the recognition that "transnational ethnic ties are an inevitable part of international relations." A shared ethnic identity Individual diaspora communities "do shift their self-conceptions, and by consequence their politics, over time in response to geographic separate, life in different types of societies, and other separate experiences." The transnational diaspora community, as a whole, thought retains objective components of a coherent ethnic/national identity such as: a "shared history", "folkways such as food and music", and most importantly, "the objective reality of a territorial homeland." Homeland as a physical embodiment "The homeland serves as the physical embodiment of the shared national identity, and its political and territorial fate has profound implications for the subjective identity of the diaspora and the transnational community." For the diaspora the homeland territory serves predominantly as an identity function, any practical value of homeland territory discounted since is not directly relevant to the diaspora's daily experience. Ethnic identification The posture of a diasporas to its homeland is determined, according to Shain, by: * the diaspora's desire to maintain its ethnic identity as their conceive of it, * the diaspora's competition with the homeland for leadership of the transnational community, * organizational or bureaucratic interests stemming from diaspora organizations, and * the diaspora's other political interests and goals in its host state. Ethnic homelands "The homeland serves as the physical embodiment of the shared national identity, and its political and territorial fate has profound implications for the subjective identity of the diaspora and the transnational community." National identity A national identity and national interest While a diaspora community may share an ethnic identity, the homeland must constitute for itself a national identity which in turn lets it identity its national interest and thus implement a coherent political strategy in pursuit of its identified national interests. "The very notion of a unified people that stretches across frontiers is complicated because in international relations, a state can in principle represent only the people living within its boundaries." Negotiation with diaspora "Although national identity can be negotiated between homeland and diaspora, the structure of modern international relations give the prerogative of constituting, elaborating, and implementing the national interest to the government of the homeland state." "In reality, neither the diaspora nor the homeland community ultimately dominates in constitute and communicating national identity." "The degree to which the one influences the other is associated with the relative strength that the homeland and the diaspora can exercise via-a-vis one another through monetary flows, cultural productions, community leadership, and the life." "Diasporas may be considered by kin states as part of their national security equation under the premise of mutual responsibility." Israel, Shain writes, recruited the Jewish diaspora to be an active participant in its conflicts by including in its construction of its national identity, its responsibility "for the well-being of all Jews around the world." Accommodating of diaspora identity via differing narrative emphasis The conflict between the homeland's national identity and the diaspora's ethnic identity often results in the diaspora emphasizes different aspects of the national narrative resulting in the diaspora embracing a slightly different interpretation of the homeland's national interest than that of held by the homeland's citizens. "A certain degree of flexibility can be preserved because of the distance between homeland and diaspora: each can, to a degree, put its own 'spin' on the national narrative and life out their shared identity in its own way." "Sufficient areas of overlap exist that homeland-diaspora ties can be quite close despite differences of emphasis in the national narrative." Diaspora influence Domestic politics Some diasporas have became significant players in the domestic circles of their homelands according to Shain and Wittes. Diasporas are vocal in their declarations of support for elected homeland politicians or in voicing their belief that certain politicians in their homeland may be "betraying the national causes" as they see it. There have been mass demonstrations of support or opposition by diaspora communities in response to specific policy decisions by their homeland governments. In addition, diasporas have targeted domestic public opinion in their homelands as its domestic political development via the use of "monetary contributions, affiliated political parties, and transnational communal organizations." International relations Diasporas, as a supplement to their involvement in the domestic politics of their homeland, have also exerted influence on the bilateral international relations of their homelands, in some cases appearing to "bypass" the expected sovereignty of their homeland over its international relationships via "privately funded activities, and by lobbying governments" of the diaspora host states as well as those of third-party states. Shain and Wittes cite the following as examples of diaspora involvement in international relations: * "Armenian-American lobbying groups successfully pass a congressional ban on U.S. aid to [[Azerbaijan] (known as Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act) that has withstood many years of White House efforts to have it overturned." * "Jewish-American lobbying organizations have pressed for the United States to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, against the wishes of the U.S. administration and often those of the Israeli government as well." * "The American Jewish Committee and B'nai B'rith both devoted impressive lobbying efforts to encourage newly independent post-Soviet states to establish diplomatic relations with Israel." Emotional attachment of diasporas ;First-hand experience Attachment and identification can strengthened by first-hand experience of diaspora members of the homeland. First-general immigrants often exhibit strong connections to their homeland which can decrease in future generations which only know the homeland from stories and media. The recognition of the role in which first-hand experience plays in the identification and emotional attachment to the homeland, there have been efforts to encourage diaspora members lacking first-hand experience to visit their homelands. A few diaspora communities, most notably the Jewish and the Armenian diasporas, have created "Birthright" programs (such as Birthright Israel) which offer to diaspora members all-expenses paid vacations to the homeland complete with fully planned itineraries designed, to give those who take advantage, an educational, and very memorable homeland experience. ;Following the news from back home A diaspora, which is able to follow remotely, typically via news media, the aspirations and struggles of a homeland can increase feelings of attachment and identification to their homeland. The influence of diaspora access to news concerning the homeland on the connection of the diaspora to the homeland is strongly evident, Shain writes, in case of the Jewish diaspora and, its homeland, Israel. ;Degree of assimilation Host societies The policies of homeland authorities, such as involvement in an ongoing violent conflict, can impinge on the political or social status of a diaspora community in their host society. Held responsible for homeland violation of host norms "When kin states violate norms that are valued by the host state, diasporas are often implicated or held accountable morally and politically. The state government and perhaps even the state public may expect diaspora leaders to persuage or pressure their homeland government to alter its policies in a more congenial direction." Dilemma of dual loyalties "Homeland conflicts and peace efforts can confront diaspora leaders with a dilemma of dual loyalties and torn allegiances." Lobbying on behalf of the homeland - may be enlisted to lobby or influence host governments. Ethnic conflicts Relationship between the the sense of endangerment to the homeland and the sense of peril in a diaspora community can either be directly linked or a predominantly psychological phenomenon. Military support The diaspora provision of military aid to their homelands can be important during period of violent conflict. Military aid offered by a diaspora, according to Shain , can varying from: fundraising in support of military purchases, supplying weapons, or serving "as a source of recruits." Shain cites the example of the military fundraising of the Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora communities in the United States in response to the latest Eritrean-Ethiopean conflict, the eventual result of which was hundreds of millions of dollars in arm purchases by their respective homelands Shain quotes from Jesse Driscoll's account of the competing diaspora fundraising efforts: :"The energy and organization of the Eritrean diaspora, however, was simply overpowering... With none of the credibility baggage of the regime in Ethiopia, Eritrea called upon its wealthy and energetic... diaspora.... The fundraising efforts of Presient Issaias Afeworki in the United States have reached legendary status among those who following the conflict."Driscoll, Jesse. 2000. "The Economics of Insanity: Funding the Ethiopia-Eritrea War", Georgetown University. Called upon by both host and homeland governments "The diaspora's support and influence may also be called upon both by the homeland government and by the host state's government as each seeks to influence the other's polices in a congenial direction." Conflict arising from differing interpretations of national interest "diaspora attempts to promote its own view of its ethnic community's identity and interests, a view that is not always congruent with the view of the homeland authorities." There is a "contest between homeland and diaspora over national identity and national interest." "Consider a state that gives up its claim to a piece of historically significant territory in oder to achieve peaceful relations with a neighboring state." "Diaspora and homeland citizens often have different attitudes towards the implications such polices have for ethnic and national identity." "For many homeland citizens, territory services multiple functions: it provides sustenance, living space and security, as well as a geographic focus for national identity. If giving up a certain territory, even one of significant symbolic value, would increase security and living conditions, a homeland citizen might find the trade-off worthwhile." "By contrast, for the diaspora, the security of the homeland is of course important as well; but the territory's identity function is paramount. Its practical value (and indeed the practical value of peace with a formal rival) is not directly relevant to the diaspora's daily experience." "In such situations, altering the geographic configuration of the homeland state for the sake of peace may be far more disturbing to the diapora elements than to segments of the homeland community." "The homeland-diaspora nexus is such that on some occasions, the diaspora may feel threatened by homeland decisions, in other situations the homeland may feel that diaspora preferences threaten national goals." "To a large degree, homeland leaders and publics feel that their direct stake in the outcome of their conflict with their neighbors should trump any diaspora preferences. On the other hand, they often have come to rely on the diaspora's political clout and financial assicate, at home and internationally." A stakeholder in peacemaking efforts Yossi Shain argues that the standard "two-level game" model for international peacemaking is inadequate for conflicts in which parties have mobilized the support and involvement of political active diaspora, because it doesn't acknowledge or provide a means to deal with the influence these groups wield. The "two-level game" model, introduced in 1988 by Robert Putnam, recognizes only two stakeholders at being relevant to a successful outcome, the domestic political constituencies of each state and each state's foreign negotiating counterparts.Robert D. Putnam. "Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games." International Organization. 42(Summer 1988):427-460. Shain believes that, in situations were antagonistic states have politically active diaspora communities, a "three-level game" model is a more accurate reflection of the reality that state leaders face. Shain's "three-level game" explicitly recognizes that state leaders must, as a requirement for successful peacemaking, engage with their diaspora communities as an additional stakeholder party to the conflict wholly distinct from two stakeholders of the Putnam's original "two-level game" model. See also * Diaspora * Ethnic interest group * Ethnic nationalism Further reading * Beck, Robert J. and Thomas Ambrosio. 2001. "International Law and the Rise of Nations: The State System and the Challenge of Ethnic Groups." CQ Press. ISBN 188911930X * Hockenos, Paul. 2003. "Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism and the Balkan Wars." Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801441587 * Shain, Yossi. 2005. "The Frontier of Loyalty: Political Exile in the Age of the Nation State (New Edition)." University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472030426 * Shain, Yossi. 1999. "Marketing the American Creed Abroad: Diasporas in the UN and Their Homelands." Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052164531X * Shain, Yossi & Tamara Cofman Wittes. Peace as a Three-Level Game: The Role of Diasporas in Conflict Resolution in Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN 027597532 * Shain, Yossi and M. Sherman. 1998. "Dynamics of disintegration: Diaspora, secession and the paradox of nation-states." Nations and Nationalism. 4(3):321-346. References Categories * Category:Diasporas - Politics, diaspora * Category:Ethnicity in politics * Category:Political science * Category:International relations